The Role of the Church in Pastoral Care and Counseling of Children in Rehabilitation Centers in Nairobi; Among Them Are St. Nicholas Community Development Centre, Boma Rescue, and Jehova Jaire Children Centres.

CHAPTER ONE
1.0INTRODUCTION
1.1Background informationPoverty is a sign, and a symptom of something very wrong in human society that perpetuates an unacceptable situation. It is assumed that development is the movement from less human conditions to better human conditions. Thus, poverty is a sign that development has not occurred, that is to say, one is under development. Therefore, if people are not enjoying the basic human conditions owed to them by the fact of being God's image, it means that we as Christians have to work together to obtain better conditions of life and of development for all. This is the basis of the Ministries of alleviation of poverty in most of the church initiatives like orphanages, children homes, centres among others programmes. Poverty hinders development and prevents people from working toward these human conditions, marginalizing them in the process of empowerment and thus bringing about more inhumane conditions. Jesus said very strongly, echoing “Isaiah”, that his mission was to "bring good news to the poor," overturning their unjust structures and systems by means such as setting prisoners free, opening eyes of the blind, lifting up the oppressed and proclaiming and establishing the Jubilee rule of freeing slaves, redistributing land and cancelling debts (Lk. 4:18ff). Following Christ’s example, the church wants to be present among the impoverished of our society, empowering them so that they are able to come out of that situation. This pastoral need has lead the church to have initiatives such as the St. Nicholas Community Development Centre (NCDC)-Karen, Boma Rescue Centre in Kariobangi and Jehova Jaire Children Centre in Mihang’o- Kayole which are the point of focus in this paper with the aim of identifying the role of the church in pastoral care and counselling of children living in rehabilitation centres. Generally, it has been the nature of the church to collaborate with other institutions towards improving and the...